One of the scariest things for a business has to be incurring losses. Let alone losses in the millions of ringgit.

But that was the reality for some businesses during the pandemic.

Agrain was one of them. They saw their customer base and revenue disappear almost overnight, and over the next three years, suffered over RM2 million in losses.

These gave them a “massive reality check.”

They pushed out new strategies, choosing quality over quantity and value over vanity. Today, they’re profitable again.

For you today, we have:

• How Agrain bounced back from millions of ringgit in losses

• A unique Malaysian watch brand that blends skill with culture

• A very special invite to an exclusive Vulcan Post event

Grab a coffee, here’s your to-read list:

🏋🏻 This is a(nother) calorie-tracking app on the market. Now it can join the other five you’ve tried (and abandoned) in the past along your #fitnessgoals journey.

🛋️ This is a furniture brand that’s gone digital. Oh, and they have showrooms. So what?

🫧 How many more dishwashing and handwashing soap brands do we need? One more, this Malaysian brand decided.

💸 Malaysians suck at financial literacy. This app wants to help them. But so have a bunch of others in the past.

Can you identify any USPs in the above business descriptions?

We can’t, because these statements above simply don’t showcase what’s actually interesting about the businesses.

In actuality:

• The calorie-tracking app was started because its founder felt that other apps were simply too complicated and bloated with other functions, which is why he simplified his and increased user convenience with the help of AI.

• The furniture brand is revolutionising furniture shopping through community “showrooms”, whereby their partners like Kubis & Kale, Pucks Coffee, and MyStartr showcase their furniture in their business premises, allowing customers to see the pieces in action before purchasing.

• The household cleaning products brand boasts plant-powered cleaning liquids that are free from harsh chemicals, and claims that their stuff is safe for all to use, from babies to grandmas.

• The financial literacy app started with goals of being a user-friendly stock investing platform, but competition gave them an identity crisis. So, they pivoted to offer bite-sized, gamified educational content on stock investing.

These businesses got noticed by us at Vulcan Post because they candidly highlighted various points in their business journey, the lows and the highs, and we saw the potential to turn all that into their very own feature.

And even if we overlooked their pitches the first few times, they persevered and tried again.

Such is the power of an effective (and persistent) pitch.

🎤 Which is why we at Vulcan Post decided to organise The MVP Room, a casual session hosted by our own editorial team.

This event will cover:

• What makes a good pitch

• The do’s and don’ts in your storytelling/interviews

• How to be “quote-worthy”

We’re extremely pleased to invite you to join us on this special day! Seats are already over 50% filled, so if you’re interested, sign up quick.

It’s first come, first served, and no walk-ins allowed because we want to ensure there’s enough food and drinks for everyone.

Full details and sign-up in the poster below!